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By Tracy Moses
The House of Representatives Committee on Finance has demanded a comprehensive account of the approximately ₦34 trillion worth of import duty waivers granted in 2025, directing the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to furnish lawmakers with the identities of beneficiaries, the legal basis for the concessions, and the specific objectives they were meant to achieve.
The directive was issued on Tuesday during an interactive session with the management of the Nigeria Customs Service as part of the National Assembly’s ongoing oversight of revenue-generating agencies and efforts to strengthen fiscal accountability.
Chairman of the Committee, Hon. James Abiodun Faleke, said the House was not opposed to the government’s policy of granting import duty waivers where necessary, but insisted that the scale of the concessions required full disclosure to enable lawmakers determine whether they were consistent with national economic priorities.
According to him, the Committee’s interest was to establish who benefited from the waivers and whether the incentives translated into the intended economic gains.
“Waiver is good. It is not a bad thing to grant waiver. But we want to know those who benefited from the waiver and the purpose for such waiver. It is okay if you grant waiver on medical and agricultural products.
“If you grant waiver, it is aimed at helping the economy to grow. For example, if you grant waiver on agricultural products, it is aimed at reducing the cost of food. So, we are not against waiver. But we want to know the beneficiaries of this ₦34 trillion waiver,” Faleke said.
Import duty waivers are fiscal incentives granted by the Federal Government to reduce or exempt certain imports from customs duties, usually to encourage investment, lower production costs, support strategic sectors such as agriculture and healthcare, or respond to economic emergencies. However, successive administrations have faced scrutiny over the transparency of the policy and its impact on government revenue.
Beyond the waiver regime, the Committee also questioned the Customs Service over what it described as inconsistencies in its revenue reporting despite consistently surpassing annual revenue targets.
While acknowledging the agency’s impressive collections, Faleke said the financial records presented to lawmakers did not sufficiently explain the variations in monthly revenue performance or the sources of excess revenue generated above approved targets.
He maintained that accurate and detailed reporting remained essential for effective legislative oversight.
“We are not going to applaud your efforts now because your account books are not balanced. We know that you want to be transparent, but you have not told us how the excess money you are reporting came about.
“I can see that in some months, you under-declare your revenue collection and in other months, you overshoot the collection. We want to know what is responsible for this. You have to provide these little details that will help us properly assess your performance,” he said.
Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Saidu Mohammed Abdullahi, argued that the Federal Government should consider setting more ambitious revenue targets for the Customs Service, noting that the agency had consistently exceeded its assigned benchmarks.
“I personally believe that they can do more than the target we give to them.
“I think we are not pushing them enough. That is why they will always come up with excesses. In 2024, you were given a target of ₦5 trillion and you generated ₦6.1 trillion. In 2025, you were given a target of about ₦6 trillion and you generated ₦7.2 trillion. I believe that if we push you enough, you can do better,” Abdullahi stated.
Responding on behalf of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, the Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Finance, Administration and Technical Services, Kikelomo Adeola, clarified that the Nigeria Customs Service does not approve import duty waivers but merely implements approvals issued by the Federal Ministry of Finance in line with extant laws and government policy.
On efforts to improve trade facilitation, Adeola urged state governments to establish inland dry ports, describing them as critical infrastructure that would decongest the nation’s seaports and accelerate cargo clearance.
“I will encourage all state governments to invest in inland dry ports. That will have a lot of impact on our operations. Any cargo that is marked for such inland port will not be delayed at the main port.
“The container will be transported directly to the inland port where it will be examined. That will reduce the pressure at the nation’s ports and increase trade facilitation in the states,” she said.
She also assured lawmakers that Customs’ cargo scanners were largely operational, with only a few units temporarily out of service for repairs.
However, a member of the Committee, Hon. Ifeanyi Uzokwe, urged the Service to hold officers accountable where negligence contributed to equipment failures or avoidable delays in cargo examination.
The Committee also scrutinised the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), directing the agency to submit comprehensive records of all registered companies and businesses in Nigeria, including the fees paid during registration.
Lawmakers further queried the Commission over its failure to submit audited financial statements to the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) since 2019, contrary to statutory requirements, and directed it to reconcile its records with the Commission without delay.
A representative of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission informed the Committee that the Corporate Affairs Commission owed the Federal Government ₦13.9 billion in unremitted operating surplus accumulated over several years.
Responding, the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission disclosed that reconciliation with the Fiscal Responsibility Commission had already commenced and that both agencies had agreed on a repayment plan under which the outstanding liability would be settled through quarterly payments of ₦500 million.
The hearing formed part of the House Committee on Finance’s continuing oversight of revenue-generating agencies as lawmakers intensify efforts to improve transparency, strengthen fiscal discipline and ensure that public revenues and tax incentives are administered in accordance with the law and in the broader national interest.